1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feed belt for strip-shaped elements, and more particularly to a feed belt, which is used for the transfer of strip-shaped elements in an automated large-scale in-line process including plating, deflashing and other various treatments for mass production of semiconductors or other products.
2. Description of the Related Art
In case of a conventional feed belt disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,843, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the feed belt, designated as reference numeral 1, comprises a belt body 2 and fingers 3 integrally formed to the belt body 2. Under this integral configuration, even if a part of the fingers 3 reach an unusable state as it is damaged in use or experiences a deterioration in its gripping force to be used to load a strip-shaped element 4 due to elastic attenuation, it is impossible to exchange the defective finger or fingers 3 only. Therefore, since the feed belt 1 has to be wholly replaced, the feed belt 1 is inefficient in maintenance as well as uneconomic due to its very short lifespan.
Further, according to the conventional feed belt 1 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,843, in a state wherein the fingers 3 are simultaneously pressed toward each other into horizontal pressing directions, designated by arrows X and Y, so as to define a certain space therebetween for loading/unloading of the strip-shaped element 4, the fingers 3 must be individually moved in order to raise or lower the strip-shaped element 4 in a vertical direction, designated by arrow Z, according to loading or unloading operation thereof, resulting in a complexity in the structure of peripheral facilities associated with the individual movement of the fingers 3, and an uneconomical increase in the size and cost of whole equipment. Therefore, the conventional feed belt 1 as stated above is rarely used these days.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrating another conventional feed belt disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,745, the conventional feed belt 1 is manufactured by individually forming a belt body 2 and plural fingers 3, and separably coupling the fingers 3 to the belt body 2. This separable configuration has a structural problem in that a lower portion of each finger 3 has to be pressed upward in a pressing direction C as shown in FIG. 5 in order to load or unload the strip-shaped element 4. Due to this structural problem, the feed belt 1 often cause unstable malfunction as the fingers 3 are separated from coupling portions 5 where they are coupled to the belt body 2.
In order to simplify the whole structure of associated loading/unloading facilities as well as to reduce the overall size of the equipment, it is preferable that the fingers 3 are pressed in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the belt body 2 for loading/unloading of the strip-shaped element 4, but the conventional feed belt disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,745 is not configured to satisfy this requirement, resulting in a complexity in the structure of the associated facilities and an uneconomical increase in the overall size and cost of the equipment as well as an increase in the possibility of failure. Therefore, the disclosed feed belt 1 is undesirable in view of maintenance.
Considering a coupling structure between the belt body 2 and the fingers 3 of the feed belt 1 disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,745, since each finger 3 is configured so that its end gripper portions 6 move upward and downward about a hinge portion 7 centrally located at the finger 3, it is necessary to secure a certain space suitable for the movement of the gripper portions 6. Further, since a distance between the gripper portions 6 and the hinge portion 7 is relatively short, the finger 3 must be pressed upward across a relatively long distance exceeding a predetermined range in the pressing direction C in order to secure a sufficient loading space for the strip-shaped element 4. Furthermore, where the gripper portions 6 move downward so as to return to their original positions after being opened away from each other and again closed to each other for loading the strip-shaped element 4, the strip-shaped element 4 may be pushed or slide downward while being moved along with the gripper portions 6, thereby causing the strip-shaped element 4 to fail in loading thereof, or even if it is loaded, to be separated from the belt 1 during the transfer thereof due to its unstable loaded state.
In case of yet another conventional feed belt constructed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the finger 3 of the feed belt comprises a support piece 8 formed by pressing a thin sheet, and elastic supports 9 formed by bending wires, which are separately formed and coupled to each other, resulting in a complexity in the structure of the finger 3. Consequently, the feed belt shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 deteriorates productivity and increases a consumed amount of materials thus increasing manufacturing costs as well as causing other uneconomical problems, and still cannot solve the basic malfunction problem caused during the loading or transfer of the strip-shaped element, in the same manner as that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.